This invention is directed to the art of wheelchairs and more particularly to the art of collapsible, portable wheelchairs designed for ease of transportation.
The invention is particularly applicable to a device for covering and carrying or transporting a portable wheelchair in its collapsed position, and will be described with particular reference thereto. It will be appreciated, however, that the invention has broader applications, such as its use in association with carrying and transporting a variety of wheeled devices, and may be advantageously employed in other environments and applications.
Portable, collapsible wheelchairs, such as those described in copending Ser. No. 07/740,434, filed Aug. 5, 1991, incorporated herein by reference, are deemed to be desirable for use by those who seek to transport wheelchairs via airplanes, buses, automobiles, trains, or other forms of transportation. Such collapsible wheelchairs can be folded from their fully opened position to a size and general shape reminiscent of a standard rectangular piece of luggage.
Along these lines, a light-weight device for covering, carrying and transporting the collapsible wheelchair has been developed. The carrying device is not cumbersome, and can be mounted in place on a collapsed wheelchair with ease of operation. Further, it can be removed from the wheelchair with similar ease.
The carrying device is designed to have bottom level openings which permit the wheels from the wheelchair or other wheeled device to extend outside the cover. The wheels themselves can act as rollers which allow the covered device to be rolled and guided along. Alternatively, the covering device is designed so that the collapsed wheelchair can be carried. A handle extends above the cover's uppermost portion to act as a gripping member during transport.
The present invention contemplates a cover and carrying bag for a wheeled device which offers the benefits described above, as well as others.